Category: Industry News

At Northwest Bus Sales, we firmly believe that there’s a bus out there for everyone which is why we came up with our ‘Build Your Own New Bus’ feature. A cutting-edge new tool on our website allows you to build the bus of your dreams, using several benchmarks to narrow down your picks. It starts first with model. Really, the question here is the number of passengers. Are you transporting 14 people, or 25? Maybe even up to 33, or 44? If you know the answer to that question, you’ll be able to select the model that can accommodate. Then… Read more »

Whether you’re taking a short bus trip to the other side of your state or taking a trip to the other side of the country, you’ll have a blast kicking back and seeing the sights. However, one thing that might frustrate you when traveling by bus is the lack of connectivity. It can be hard to stay in touch with the outside world when you don’t have a great internet connection. Here are some ways that you can keep in touch with others when you’re taking a lengthy bus trip. Use your Cell Phone This is a pretty obvious piece… Read more »

It’s common now to convert a charter bus into a school bus or vice versa. At Northwest Bus Sales, we provide new buses for sale and used buses for sale in the Northwest. Before you start working on a bus conversion, you should understand the basic tools you need to get it done. Here’s some of the basic tools that you’ll need to have on hand before starting a bus conversation: A Good Hammer You’ll likely be using a hammer a lot on your bus conversion. We recommend procuring a hammer that can take a beating — one that is… Read more »

Europe is combining six, 17-seat low-emission minibuses with the concept of Uber to create a new mode of transportation called PickMeUp, Oxford Bus Company’s new “Uber for buses” service. The PickMeUp app and service officially launched in June 2018 as the new public way to travel in Oxford by bus. Residents simply download the PickMeUp app and order a bus to a virtual stop on demand; they set up the pick-up and drop-off points within the app’s chosen zone and add extra passengers as applicable. Users can see their route and estimated time of arrival on the app. The route… Read more »

We here at Northwest Bus Sales talk a lot about buses: why they’re eco-friendly and efficient; why they’re getting more attention from cities and organizations alike; and why they’re great for any group travel occasion. However, what largely goes under the radar is where you get on and off the bus itself: the bus stop! And how that bus stop looks, and feels, can largely impact your overall bus experience. Luckily, there are several bus stop pioneers out there who are rethinking what a bus stop means to its local community and how to improve them. Here are a few… Read more »

There are several reasons why people are buying buses at record clips right now. As we mentioned previously on our blog, cities are looking to buses once again to expand their mass transit networks as urban centers rapidly grow. In the era of rideshare, people are more often looking for cost-effective ways to transport large groups of people, even if they don’t know one another. Group travel is 2018’s transit trend, and we’re fully behind it. But there’s another reason why more people are buying buses that has recently arisen and it’s one that is so interesting and unique, it’s… Read more »

When it comes to public transit, the city of Seattle is in a good place. Recent studies have shown that the citizens of the city are utilizing public transport in record numbers. In 2017 alone, the Metro bus system transported a record 122.2 million riders, the Sound Transit Link light rail system carried a record 23.2 million riders, and 9.6 million passengers chose the Metro-operated Sound Transit Express service. When it comes to these popular forms of transport, the people have made their voices heard, and the city has listened. Per King County Executive, Dow Constantine: “People wanted more bus… Read more »

A trial of a Ford-operated, commuter ride-share service app was approved for launch in London this past January. Chariot, the business providing the ride share services through the app, will allow passengers to pay a premium over a regular bus fare price for pre-booked trips running along four routes. As shared mobility services reach all-time popularity levels, vehicle manufacturers such as Ford are turning away from a traditional industry platform and toward a more user-friendly model. The ride-share service is part of an effort to ramp up what Ford calls their microtransit plan. The use of the Chariot app is… Read more »

2018 is the year of public transit’s revival, as cities nationwide increasingly look to limit congestion, cut back on car exhaust, and make their streets more enjoyable for everyone. With the push to go green, focusing new attention on public transit, especially in regards to buses, will be instrumental in future development. The first major trend involves the experimentation of BRT, or what’s known as bus rapid transit. In Indianapolis, work will begin this year on a 13-mile rapid transit line which will run across the city. When done, buses are expected to pick up passengers from stops every ten… Read more »

While many U.S. cities find their public transportation systems in decline, Pittsburgh is one of the few cities bucking the trend, according to a recent article in urbanist publication, CityMetric. The Steel City’s public transit system is the 26th largest in the nation, and boasts a usage rate that is a staggering 92 percent above the national average. How has Pittsburgh been able to accomplish this? CityMetric describes a number of combined efforts by Pittsburgh’s local government and port authority to be proactive in addressing, then remedying issues. The article posits that other major cities could benefit by taking Pittsburgh’s… Read more »